""My hero -- my namesake -- had fled in craven terror and cowardice from nothing but a harmless gourd. I couldn't bear the shame... and that's when I finally asserted myself -- in defiance of cruel destiny -- and uttered my fateful vow... In the story of my life, the scrawny Scarecrow will win in the end -- and the last laugh, I swear, will be mine!!" - Batman Annual #19"